Keith Allen will be shouldering a mechanical parrot for the last time on 10 January as Treasure Island ends its run at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. Ken Ludwig’s stage adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel had been booking until 28 February.
The swashbuckling tale of pirate adventure on the high seas opened on 17 November and stars Allen as infamous peg-legged cook Long John Silver, with Michael Legge as Jim Hawkins, the young man who comes across a map showing the location of the fabled lost treasure of Captain Flint. Gathering a crew of gentlemen and scoundrels, Hawkins sets sail to find it, but none of them know if they will make it back alive.
Allen, who made his West End stage debut in Treasure Island, is best known for playing the Sheriff of Nottingham in the BBC serialisation of Robin Hood. His stage credits include The Homecoming at the National Theatre and The Celebration at the Almeida theatre.
Treasure Island is directed by Sean Holmes, who had success with Moonlight And Magnolias at the Tricycle theatre and The Entertainer at the Old Vic.
The family-orientated show has designated Tuesday night performances as pirate night, with ticket-holders whole-heartedly encouraged to come in their finest pirate attire.
Following Treasure Island, the next production lined up for the Theatre Royal Haymarket is Samuel Beckett’s Waiting For Godot, which opens Sean Mathias’s year-long season as Artistic Director of the theatre. The production, starring Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart, opens on 6 May after previews from 30 April. No production has yet been announced to fill the gap between the two productions.
CB